How to create a good theory test


2010-07-06

How to create a good theory test

Creating a good theory test can be both challenging and time-consuming. First of all we should set both long and short-term test objectives as well as the type of test that we want to build. We can choose from several kinds of test questions such as multiple choice questions, gap filling, item matching or open-ended questions. There are three primary characteristics of a good test: validity, reliability and practicality. The test is valid when it measures the knowledge that it intended to measure. Therefore all the test questions have to be adequate to the material meant to be assessed. The test that aims at evaluating students knowledge of a given theory cannot be based on other theoretical issues. The next characteristic is official theory test reliability, in other words, the steadiness of the measurement. That means that each time a given test is administered to the students their results are quite similar. It is very difficult to measure the reliability of a theory test as the knowledge of the questions can improve the test result if it is retaken. The last important feature of a good test is its practicality. While creating a test we should remember that it has to be handy and easy to administer.